Hey everyone! I started this entry on Labor Day, which is why the first link references the holiday. These links are all very pertinent, regardless. ❤

Today is Labor Day, and even though my college doesn’t have the day off (OH THE HORROR), I’m trying to spend some time thinking about labor practices int the United States. After all, Labor Day isn’t just a day to sit around and do nothing. It could be a day to work for better work conditions. Colorlines talks about important workplace reforms that everyone should be thinking about this Labor Day.

Dan Savage links to (and quotes) an article about the impatience of the American people and our unwillingness to understand that solutions to pervasive societal problems will take time to implement. That’s not to say, however, that there aren’t some problems which have quick solutions, or which deserve immediate attention because of the amount of time they’ve been ignored.

You know all that stuff about reintegrating people into society after they’ve served time in jail? Well it’s all talk unless you’re working to do things like “ban the box,” which prevents employers from asking applicants about their criminal records. How is someone supposed to reintegrate into society if they can’t get a job?

Feministe has cross-posted a series of three posts from the Global Maternal Health Conference in New Delhi. Here are one, two (about how important context is for maternal health) and three (about outpatient abortion services).

Kentucky lawyer is cited for contempt for refusing to divulge the name of her client whose status as a minor compels her to seek permission from her parents or the court before obtaining an abortion. The young girl did not want her name given in court, and the law states that she had the right for it to remain private. Rock on, KY lawyer, rock on.

The word “abortion” is googled more in conservative areas where access to the procedure is much more restricted. Interesting. Thoughts?
Coming at you from Feministe, which rocks my world all the time: Marginalized folks shouldn’t always have to be “the bigger persons” Too true. Most of the time, I try not to be a huge asshole when calling people out, I try to explain coherently why whatever has been done or said bothers me, and I try to be calm. At Grinnell, that’s been working really well, and people are pretty much always down to hear what I say and respect my feelings about subjects, words, etc. But sometimes that doesn’t work. And sometimes, I just don’t care how “sensitive” or “overreactive” I’m being. The other night, a guy friend (who actually isn’t really a friend anymore) made a rape joke, and I just went off on him. Two of my girlfriends were there with me, and I know there were a little taken aback by how upset I got, but I really couldn’t give less of a shit. I’m gonna get angry sometimes, and I sure as hell hope (for your sake) that it’s not at you.

An important reminder of just how damaging anti-immigrant rhetoric is: “There’s a sinister logic to it: Latina women aren’t mothers; they drop babies. Latino fathers don’t support their families; they steal jobs. So the undocumented are blurred into a faceless horde that threatens to crowd out deserving U.S. citizens. This rubric teaches “real Americans” that their status must be vigilantly guarded, because citizenship isn’t a birthright, but a privilege, reserved for real people.”

In the United States, when we hear racism, we think of white people discriminating against black people. That’s a reasonable jump, as most of the racism in the U.S. is based on a history of people with white skin enslaving Africans. Of course, racism affects all people of color, including (but not limited to) Indians, Native Americans, Latin@s, etc. I think it’s critical to remember, however, that racism exists all over the world, not just in Western majority-white countries. Here is a good example of the breadth and variety of racism across the world.

I’ve definitely been guilty of wondering why someone would spend their money on luxuries I consider frivolous, like super nice cars, if they’re strapped for cash and maybe don’t have enough money to buy food for the week. But this post makes me understand how classist that kind of thinking is.

You may have noticed that my blogroll, while small, contains some awesome links. I started off just linking to the blogs of my friends (Jessica Annabelle, Joe, Dan, D’laney, Molly Looze, and Naomi) but recently decided that I’d like to include links to some of the blogs I check every day.

A couple of them are feminist blogs (Feministe and Feministing), a couple are more LGBTQIA focused (Dan Savage and Fit For a Femme [the writer of this blog posts pictures of her outfits, and they are AMAZING]) and a couple are blogs that cover mostly racial issues (Racialicious and Colorlines).

I’ve included a wide range of topics because I believe that being a one-issue citizen/voter/blogger is difficult and not true to who I am. Obviously, there are issues which I avoid completely, and others which I spend a majority of my time on. But I’d like my readers to be exposed to blogs which discuss some of the ideas I don’t have the time or expertise to write about.

Here, for your sampling pleasure, are some of posts/articles I’ve read recently from each of my links. Hopefully you’ll find them as intriguing, thought-provoking and revealing as I do: